Troubleshooting
If requests fail, run zero doctor check-connector --env-name PDF4ME_TOKEN or zero doctor check-connector --url https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/ConvertToPdf --method POST
How to Use
1. Convert to PDF
Convert Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images to PDF:
# Convert a text file to PDF
echo "Hello, PDF4ME!" > /tmp/test.txt
BASE64_CONTENT=$(base64 < /tmp/test.txt)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "${BASE64_CONTENT}",
"docName": "test.txt"
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/ConvertToPdf" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json | jq -r '.docContent' | base64 -d > /tmp/output.pdf2. HTML to PDF
Convert HTML content to PDF:
HTML_CONTENT=$(echo '<html><body><h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a test.</p></body></html>' | base64)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "${HTML_CONTENT}",
"docName": "test.html",
"layout": "Portrait",
"format": "A4"
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/ConvertHtmlToPdf" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json --output /tmp/from-html.pdf3. URL to PDF
Convert a webpage to PDF:
Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"webUrl": "https://example.com"
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/ConvertUrlToPdf" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json > /tmp/webpage.pdf4. Merge PDFs
Combine multiple PDFs into one:
PDF1_BASE64=$(base64 < file1.pdf)
PDF2_BASE64=$(base64 < file2.pdf)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": ["${PDF1_BASE64}", "${PDF2_BASE64}"],
"docName": "merged.pdf"
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/Merge" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json | jq -r '.docContent' | base64 -d > merged.pdf5. Split PDF
Split PDF by page ranges:
PDF_BASE64=$(base64 < input.pdf)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "${PDF_BASE64}",
"docName": "input.pdf",
"splitAction": "splitAfterPage",
"splitAfterPage": 2
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/Split" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json6. Compress PDF
Reduce PDF file size:
PDF_BASE64=$(base64 < large.pdf)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "${PDF_BASE64}",
"docName": "large.pdf"
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/Compress" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json | jq -r '.docContent' | base64 -d > compressed.pdf7. PDF to Word
Convert PDF to editable Word document:
PDF_BASE64=$(base64 < input.pdf)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "${PDF_BASE64}",
"docName": "input.pdf"
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/PdfToWord" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json | jq -r '.docContent' | base64 -d > output.docx8. PDF to Images
Create thumbnails/images from PDF pages:
PDF_BASE64=$(base64 < input.pdf)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "${PDF_BASE64}",
"docName": "input.pdf",
"imageFormat": "png",
"width": 800
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/CreateThumbnail" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json9. Add Text Stamp/Watermark
Add text watermark to PDF:
PDF_BASE64=$(base64 < input.pdf)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "${PDF_BASE64}",
"docName": "input.pdf",
"stampText": "CONFIDENTIAL",
"pages": "all",
"alignX": "center",
"alignY": "middle",
"alpha": 0.3
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/TextStamp" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json | jq -r '.docContent' | base64 -d > stamped.pdf10. OCR - Extract Text from Scanned PDF
Make scanned PDFs searchable:
PDF_BASE64=$(base64 < scanned.pdf)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "${PDF_BASE64}",
"docName": "scanned.pdf",
"ocrLanguage": "eng"
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/PdfOcr" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json | jq -r '.docContent' | base64 -d > searchable.pdf11. Protect PDF with Password
PDF_BASE64=$(base64 < input.pdf)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "${PDF_BASE64}",
"docName": "input.pdf",
"password": "secret123"
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/ProtectDocument" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json | jq -r '.docContent' | base64 -d > protected.pdf12. Extract Pages
Extract specific pages from PDF:
PDF_BASE64=$(base64 < input.pdf)Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "${PDF_BASE64}",
"docName": "input.pdf",
"pageNrs": [1, 3, 5]
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/ExtractPages" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.json | jq -r '.docContent' | base64 -d > extracted.pdfAPI Endpoints
| Category | Endpoint | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Convert | /api/v2/ConvertToPdf | Word/Excel/PPT/Image → PDF |
/api/v2/ConvertHtmlToPdf | HTML → PDF | |
/api/v2/UrlToPdf | URL → PDF | |
/api/v2/MarkdownToPdf | Markdown → PDF | |
/api/v2/PdfToWord | PDF → Word | |
/api/v2/PdfToExcel | PDF → Excel | |
/api/v2/PdfToPowerpoint | PDF → PowerPoint | |
| Merge/Split | /api/v2/Merge | Merge multiple PDFs |
/api/v2/Split | Split PDF | |
/api/v2/ExtractPages | Extract specific pages | |
| Optimize | /api/v2/Compress | Compress PDF |
/api/v2/Linearize | Optimize for web | |
| Edit | /api/v2/TextStamp | Add text watermark |
/api/v2/ImageStamp | Add image watermark | |
/api/v2/AddPageNumber | Add page numbers | |
/api/v2/Rotate | Rotate pages | |
| Extract | /api/v2/CreateThumbnail | PDF → Images |
/api/v2/ExtractResources | Extract images/fonts | |
/api/v2/ExtractTable | Extract tables | |
| OCR | /api/v2/PdfOcr | OCR scanned PDFs |
| Security | /api/v2/ProtectDocument | Password protect |
/api/v2/UnlockPdf | Remove password | |
| Forms | /api/v2/FillPdfForm | Fill form fields |
/api/v2/ExtractFormData | Extract form data | |
| Barcode | /api/v2/CreateBarcode | Generate barcode |
/api/v2/AddBarcodeToPdf | Add barcode to PDF | |
/api/v2/ReadBarcodeFromPdf | Read barcode from PDF |
Request Format
All endpoints use POST with JSON body:
Write to /tmp/pdf4me_request.json:
{
"docContent": "base64-encoded-file",
"docName": "filename.ext",
"...other parameters": "..."
}Then run:
curl -s -X POST "https://api.pdf4me.com/api/v2/{endpoint}" --header "Authorization: $PDF4ME_TOKEN" --header "Content-Type: application/json" -d @/tmp/pdf4me_request.jsonResponse Format
{
"docContent": "base64-encoded-result",
"docName": "output.pdf",
"pageCount": 5
}Guidelines
- File Size: Max 20MB per file (varies by plan)
- Base64: All file content must be base64 encoded
- Formats: Supports PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, images
- OCR Languages: eng, deu, fra, spa, ita, por, etc.
- Rate Limits: Check your plan at https://dev.pdf4me.com/pricing/
- Free Tier: 50 API calls/month
- Postman: Import from https://dev.pdf4me.com/apiv2/documentation/postman/
Resources
- API Docs: https://dev.pdf4me.com/apiv2/documentation/
- Code Samples: https://github.com/pdf4me/pdf4me-api-samples
- Postman Collection: https://dev.pdf4me.com/apiv2/documentation/postman/
- Dashboard: https://dev.pdf4me.com/dashboard/